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Just booked first time Cunard, ton of questions!!


DonRobertoSanJuan
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We just booked Queen Victoria for a British Isles cruise, May 12th and have a lot of questions. We have cruised with Celebrity (nice) and Royal (not so nice) and would like to know how Cunard is different. We booked a balcony room (BE).

 

We always booked an aft cabin but now have a forward cabin. Is there a big difference in feeling the ships movements? What is the best time is to board? Can we purchase a drink or wine package and/or specialty coffee? When booking it showed open dining (times?) but the confirmation gives us 6PM. Does Cunard have open dining times?.Does anyone have experience with the Cunard airline program? Can we pick our own flights?

 

Lots of questions and thanks for your help.

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We just booked Queen Victoria for a British Isles cruise, May 12th and have a lot of questions. We have cruised with Celebrity (nice) and Royal (not so nice) and would like to know how Cunard is different. We booked a balcony room (BE).

 

We always booked an aft cabin but now have a forward cabin. Is there a big difference in feeling the ships movements? What is the best time is to board? Can we purchase a drink or wine package and/or specialty coffee? When booking it showed open dining (times?) but the confirmation gives us 6PM. Does Cunard have open dining times?.Does anyone have experience with the Cunard airline program? Can we pick our own flights?

 

Lots of questions and thanks for your help.

 

It would appear that a reference to a brochure before booking might have answered many of your questions and might have put you off Cunard. Unless you book a Grill or a Britannia Club stateroom evening dining is fixed at 6 or 8:30 pm at a set table your choice of 2-4-6-8 or 10 people.

 

Never requiring a beverage package I can't answer that question. Unless you run into severe weather a criuise around the Islands wil not matter where you are located on board. Don't know the direction of the cruise but with a balcony one would wish to be on the land side Vs. looking out to sea.

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Here is a link to the Cunard UK FAQ concerning drinks packages.

 

https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/drinks_package

 

Since you are in Puerto Rico, that link probably won't work for you, so here is what it says.

 

Also, specifics about the wine packages can be found within the "Little Luxuries" section of your Voyage Personalier.

 

Regards, John

______________________________

 

Q. Do you offer drinks packages?

 

Yes, we only offer the following drink packages below. If you would like to book a wine/coffee package please call the Customer Contact Centre (please visit our website for contact details), to place your order. Pre ordered items will require payment at time of ordering and will not be charged to your on board account.

 

*Please note that all items / prices are subject to change and availability and where applicable, alternatives may be offered.

 

Soft Drinks Package

Cunard offers and all-inclusive unlimited soft drinks package. The package price is calculated for the duration of your voyage at $8.50* per person per day plus 15% service charge.

 

Soda: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Lemonade, Soda Water (Draught from the post mix dispenser)

Fruit Juices: Orange, Apple, Grapefruit, Pineapple, Tomato and Cranberry. (Poured juices only, package excludes: Folkingtons bottled juices and freshly squeezed orange juice)

Size: Regular or Small

 

Availability of specific brands and flavours may vary by ship or venue on board. Soft drinks packages can be purchased on board.

 

Coffee Card

A coffee card is available to pre-purchase at a cost of $40* which allows guests, 10 regular coffees once on board (Speciality lattes, liqueur coffees, hot chocolate, extra flavours/toppings, larger sizes are not included)

 

Wine Packages

Various wine packages and World Voyage Wine Collections are available to book before your cruise or once you arrive on board (15% gratuity is included in these prices). Wine packages can be consumed either in the restaurant or in your cabin. Please note loyalty discount will not be applied when purchasing wine packages.

 

Wine Tasting

Wine Tasting is available from $35.00* per person. Chief Sommeliers on board create wine tasting packages which are influenced by the cruise and itinerary and will be subject to availability. To take advantage of these packages, please contact reception once on board.

 

Please note that these packages are non-refundable and may not be exchanged for another item, or for on board credit.

 

*subject to change

 

Room Service

Single bottles of wine or Champagne can be pre ordered via our gift catalogue and spirits can be ordered via room service.

 

For sample menus available on board please see the question How much are drinks on board?

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DonRoberto, The difference is, Once You Cruise with CUNARD, you will N E V E R want to go back to RCI or Celebrity or Norwegian.... or any of the other "" lesser"" options. I've been fortunate to sail on all 3 QUEENS...... including 1/2 world cruises, and they are all delightful and fabulous. GOOD choice that you made !! Enjoy!

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You can purchase your coffee card at the coffee bar, Sir Samuel's. It's a good buy if you drink a lot of specialty coffees. Note that you can get a free latte or espresso in the Britannia dining room after lunch or dinner, at least as I recall. You will have a set dining time, looks like 6:00. You can change to the late seating, 8:30, if you wish.

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It would appear that a reference to a brochure before booking might have answered many of your questions and might have put you off Cunard. Unless you book a Grill or a Britannia Club stateroom evening dining is fixed at 6 or 8:30 pm at a set table your choice of 2-4-6-8 or 10 people.

 

Not necessarily as we are in QG on an upcoming voyage and on our voyage personaliser it says confirmed 18:00 dining. Don’t think the OP specified which restaurant they are dining in. So I’d say to the OP, if you have booked grills or club don’t panic that it says 6pm. It’s just the way they put it on the booking. You will be getting what you originally expected! If you have booked a Britannia cabin, you can usually just ask the maitre d’ when you board the ship if you are unable to change before you go. Most of the time they will move you to another sitting if they are able to.

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... Don’t think the OP specified which restaurant they are dining in. ...

The OP didn't specifically state which restaurant they are in but did mention they have booked a BE category cabin on Queen Victoria. That means they do have a standard Britannia balcony cabin with fixed-time dining in the main Britannia restaurant.

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Thanks everyone. I finally made it to the Voyage Personaliser and see my dining options. They put us at 8:30, but because of the show times we prefer 6, for which there is a wait list.

 

With the ship departing at 4:30, what would be a good time to board? We rented a car at Heathrow so we can get to Southampton at our leisure.

 

Also, the VP showed that we can purchase a wine package, but no other information. Someone mentioned to order by phone, but I sure would want to see the selection before buying. Where can I find that information?

 

Any other information helpful to a Cunard first timer would be appreciated.

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Thanks everyone. I finally made it to the Voyage Personaliser and see my dining options. They put us at 8:30, but because of the show times we prefer 6, for which there is a wait list.

 

With the ship departing at 4:30, what would be a good time to board? We rented a car at Heathrow so we can get to Southampton at our leisure.

 

Also, the VP showed that we can purchase a wine package, but no other information. Someone mentioned to order by phone, but I sure would want to see the selection before buying. Where can I find that information?

 

Any other information helpful to a Cunard first timer would be appreciated.

 

You can find information about the wine packages in the Voyage Personaliser under "Little Luxuries". Look for the tab for this in the upper right-hand corner of the Voyage Personaliser screen. Once you are in the "Little Luxuries" area of the Voyage Personaliser, you should see a link titled "The Wine Packages Collection - Create Your Own Collection". That page will show you various options concerning the wine packages including prices and wine selections.

 

You will be assigned an arrival time for check-in on your e-tickets when they are issued. As a first-timer on Cunard, that time is likely to be a later time in the afternoon, probably somewhere around 3:00pm. That is not a hard-and-fast time, but I'd suggest planning your arrival sometime between 2:00pm and 3:00pm anyway to minimize your wait time for check-in.

 

Regards, John

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Thanks John,

 

Where exactly is the Cunard terminal? I am rethinking renting a car Saturday, to taking a car service Friday night, after our flight, which arrives at 20:10.

 

If I do that, I need a hotel, preferably close to the terminal. Any ideas?

 

If you want a decent budget hotel next to a shopping Mall try the Premier Inn West Quay. If you want to push the boat out out try the Southampton Harbour Hotel. There are also lots more hotels near to the terminal, if you search Southampton Cruise terminal hotels you will be able to find a map and hotel locations on many of the booking sites. The ABP (Associated British Ports) website is also useful.

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Thanks John,

 

Where exactly is the Cunard terminal? I am rethinking renting a car Saturday, to taking a car service Friday night, after our flight, which arrives at 20:10.

 

If I do that, I need a hotel, preferably close to the terminal. Any ideas?

 

There are four main cruise terminals in Southampton (Mayflower, City, Ocean, and Queen Elizabeth II) plus a berth at the Fruit Terminal which is used when five cruise ships are in port the same day. Here is a link to a map on the Southampton VTS (ABP Southampton) web site showing the locations of these terminals.

 

http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/admin/content/files/PDF_Downloads/Southampton%20Map%202014.pdf

 

Cunard uses the Mayflower, Ocean, and Queen Elizabeth II cruise terminals. The Southampton VTS (ABP Southampton) web site also has a Cruise Ship Schedule found here.

 

http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/

 

This schedule indicates your May 12, 2018 departure on Queen Victoria will be from the Mayflower Terminal (Berth 106) and your arrival back in Southampton on May 25, 2018 will be at the Queen Elizabeth II Terminal (Berth 38/9). That schedule is subject to change though.

 

We have stayed in Southampton a couple of times pre-cruise and have stayed at the Novotel both times. We have found it to be a good alternative. The Novotel appears to be the closest hotel to the Mayflower Terminal however there are many other hotel choices that are still a short taxi ride away from any of the cruise terminals. A search on here for threads about Southampton hotels will yield many other suggestions for hotels in Southampton.

 

Regards, John

Edited by bluemarble
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Regarding the time to arrive to check-in: If you are assigned a 3:00 check-in time, I recommend arriving at the terminal just at 3:00. If you arrive an hour early, you may end up in a line for an hour and there may be nowhere to sit.

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We expect to arrive in Southampton late night (around 23:00) and probably will be hungry. Does anyone have experience with room service? We booked the Grand Harbour Hotel because they show room service, but they have a lot of bad write ups and they have not responded to my email about their room service. Any other hotels with late night room service?

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